The concept of mode locking in laser is applied to a two-photon state with frequency entanglement. Cavity enhanced parametric down-conversion is found to produce exactly such a state. The mode-locked two-photon state exhibits a comb-like correlation function. An unbalanced Hong-Ou-Mandel type interferometer is used to measure the correlation function. A revival of the typical interference dip is observed. We will discuss schemes for engineering of quantum states in time domain.
We numerically study 2-photon processes using a set of harmonics from a Ti:Sapphire laser and in particular interference effects in the Above Threshold Ionization spectra. We compare the situation where the harmonic phases are assumed locked to the case where they have a random distribution. Suggestions for possible experiments, using realistic parameters are discussed.
Quantum photon-number fluctuation and correlation of bound soliton pairs in mode-locked fiber lasers are studied based on the complex Ginzburg-Landau equation model. We find that, depending on their phase difference, the total photon-number noise of the bound soliton pair can be larger or smaller than that of a single soliton and the two solitons in the soliton pairs are with positive or negative photon-number correlation, correspondingly. It is predicted for the first time that out-of-phase soliton pairs can exhibit less noises due to negative correlation.
We report a quantum optical storage time-extended near perfect photon echo protocol using a phase locking method via an auxiliary spin state, where the phase locking acts as a conditional stopper of the rephasing process resulting in extension of storage time determined by the spin dephasing process. The near perfect retrieval efficiency is owing to phase conjugate scheme, which gives the important benefit of aberration corrections when dealing with quantum images.
Fock states with photon numbers n up to 7 are prepared on demand in a microwave superconducting cavity by a quantum feedback procedure which reverses decoherence-induced quantum jumps. Circular Rydberg atoms are used as quantum non-demolition sensors or as single photon emitter/absorber actuators. The quantum nature of these actuators matches the correction of single-photon quantum jumps due to relaxation. The flexibility of this method is suited to the generation of arbitrary sequences of Fock states.
We propose a scheme to realize the two-axis counter-twisting spin-squeezing Hamiltonian inside an optical cavity with the aid of phase-locked atom-photon coupling. By careful analysis and extensive simulation, we demonstrate that our scheme is robust against dissipation caused by cavity loss and atomic spontaneous emission, and it can achieve significantly higher squeezing than one axis twisting. We further show how our idea can be extended to generate two-mode spin-squeezed states in two coupled cavities. Due to its easy implementation and high tunability, our scheme is experimentally realiza…
Quantum storage of light in a collective ensemble of atoms plays an important role in quantum information processing. Consisting of a quantum repeater together with quantum entanglement swapping, quantum memory has been intensively studied recently. Conventional photon echoes have been limited by extremely low retrieval efficiency and short storage time confined by the optical phase decay process. Here, we report a storage time-extended near perfect photon echo protocol using a phase locking method via an auxiliary spin state, where the phase locking acts as a conditional stopper of the rephas…
We present a new scheme to generate high dimensional entanglement between two photonic systems. The idea is based on parametric down conversion with a sequence of pump pulses generated by a mode-locked laser. We prove experimentally the feasibility of this scheme by performing a Franson-type Bell test using a 2-way interferometer with path-length difference equal to the distance between 2 pump pulses. With this experiment, we can demonstrate entanglement for a two-photon state of at least dimension D=11. Finally, we propose a feasible experiment to show a Fabry-Perot like effect for a high dim…
We generate high-dimensional time-bin entanglement using a mode-locked laser and analyze it with a 2-photon Fabry-Perot interferometer. The dimension of the entangled state is limited only by the phase coherence between subsequent pulses and is practically infinite. In our experiment a pico-second mode-locked laser at 532 nm pumps a non-linear potassium niobate crystal to produce photon pairs by spontaneous parametric down-conversion at 810 and 1550 nm.
Single-photon sources that emit photons at the same energy play a key role in the emerging concepts of quantum information, such as entanglement swapping, quantum teleportation and quantum networks. They can be realized in a variety of systems, where semiconductor quantum dots, or 'artificial atoms', are arguably among the most attractive. However, unlike 'natural atoms', no two artificial atoms are alike. This peculiarity is a serious hurdle for quantum information applications that require photonic quantum states with identical energies. Here we demonstrate a single artificial atom that gene…
Resonance fluorescence in the Heitler regime provides access to single photons with coherence well beyond the Fourier transform limit of the transition, and holds the promise to circumvent environment-induced dephasing common to all solid-state systems. Here we demonstrate that the coherently generated single photons from a single self-assembled InAs quantum dot display mutual coherence with the excitation laser on a timescale exceeding 3 seconds. Exploiting this degree of mutual coherence we synthesize near-arbitrary coherent photon waveforms by shaping the excitation laser field. In contrast…
We investigate quantum properties of phase-locked light beams generated in a nondegenerate optical parametric oscillator (NOPO) with an intracavity waveplate. This investigation continuous our previous analysis presented in Phys.Rev.A 69, 05814 (2004), and involves problems of continuous-variable quadrature entanglement in the spectral domain, photon-number correlations as well as the signatures of phase-locking in the Wigner function. We study the role of phase-localizing processes on the quantum correlation effects. The peculiarities of phase-locked NOPO in the self-pulsing instability opera…
Atomic population transfer in an inhomogeneously broadened optical medium is analyzed for on-demand photon storage-time control in both atomic frequency comb (AFC) and phase locked echoes. In AFC the photon storage mechanism belongs to the conventional three-pulse photon echoes, while the storage time control is limited by conventional two-pulse photon echoes.
We explore in detail the possibility of generation of continuous-variable (CV) entangled states of light fields with well-localized phases. We show that such quantum states, called entangled self-phase locked states, can be generated in nondegenerate optical parametric oscillator (NOPO) based on a type-II phase-matched down-conversion combined with polarization mixer in a cavity. A quantum theory of this device, recently realized in the experiment, is developed for both sub-threshold and above-threshold operational regimes. We show that the system providing relative phase coherence between two…
We explore in detail the possibility of intracavity generation of continuous-variable (CV) entangled states of light beams under mode phase-locked conditions. We show that such quantum states can be generated in self-phase locked nondegenerate optical parametric oscillator (NOPO) based on a type-II phase-matched down-conversion combined with linear mixer of two orthogonally polarized modes of the subharmonics in a cavity. A quantum theory of this device, recently realized in the experiment, is developed for both sub-threshold and above-threshold operational regimes. We show that the system pro…
Observation of the First-Order Interference Fringes Beyond Coherence Length Employing Commercial Continuous-wave Multi-mode Laser Diode: A Sight of Two-photon Interference
We stabilize a chosen radiofrequency beat note between two optical fields derived from the same mode-locked laser pulse train, in order to coherently manipulate quantum information. This scheme does not require access or active stabilization of the laser repetition rate. We implement and characterize this external lock, in the context of two-photon stimulated Raman transitions between the hyperfine ground states of trapped 171-Yb+ quantum bits.
We present an experiment where two photonic systems of arbitrary dimensions can be entangled. The method is based on spontaneous parametric down conversion with trains of d pump pulses with a fixed phase relation, generated by a mode-locked laser. This leads to a photon pair created in a coherent superposition of $d$ discrete emission times, given by the successive laser pulses. Entanglement is shown by performing a two-photon interference experiment and by observing the visibility of the interference fringes increasing as a function of the dimension d. Factors limiting the visibility, such as…
Crossovers between Time-Bin and Energy-Time Entanglement in Homodyned Resonance Fluorescence
Beijing Academy of Quantum Information Sciences（北京量子信息科学研究院）；Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院物理研究所凝聚态物理国家实验室）；University of Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院大学）
Soliton molecules (SMs) are fundamentally important modes in nonlinear optical systems. It is a challenge to experimentally produce SMs with a required temporal separation in mode-locked fiber lasers. Here, we propose and realize an experimental scenario for harnessing SM dynamics in a laser setup. In particular, we tailor SMs in a mode-locked laser controlled by second-order group-velocity dispersion and dispersion losses: the real part of dispersion maintains the balance between the dispersion and nonlinearity, while the dispersion loss determines the balance of gain and losses. The experime…
Interference between two completely independent photons lies at the heart of many photonic quantum information applications such as quantum repeaters, teleportation, and quantum key distribution. Here, we report the observation of Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) interference with two independent continuous-wave coherent light sources that are neither synchronized nor share any common reference. To prepare highly indistinguishable photons from two independent laser sources, we employ high-precision frequency-stabilization techniques using the 5S1/2(F=3)-5P1/2(F'=3) transition line of 85Rb atoms. We succes…
We demonstrate a technique to lock simultaneously two laser frequencies to each step of a two-photon transition in the presence of a magnetic field sufficiently large to gain access to the hyperfine Paschen-Back regime. A ladder configuration with the 5S$_{1/2}$, 5P$_{3/2}$ and 5D$_{5/2}$ terms in a thermal vapour of $^{87}$Rb atoms is used. The two lasers remain locked for more than 24 hours. For the sum of the laser frequencies, which represents the stability of the two-photon lock, we measure a frequency instability of less than the Rb D$_2$ natural linewidth of 6 MHz for nearly all measure…
We demonstrate single-photon time-domain interference in a new realm. We observe interferences in the photon counting statistics with two separate mode-locked femtosecond lasers of slightly different repetition frequencies, each emitting a comb of evenly spaced spectral lines over a wide spectral span. We exploit the interference pattern for spectroscopic diagnostics over a broad spectral range. An experimental proof-of-concept shows that the emerging technique of high-resolution dual-comb Fourier transform spectroscopy can be performed at light powers that are a billion-fold weaker than those…
The second-order correlation function of light $g^{(2)}(τ)$ constitutes a pivotal tool to quantify the quantum behavior of an emitter and in turn its potential for quantum information applications. The experimentally accessible time resolution of $g^{(2)}(τ)$ is usually limited by the jitter of available single photon detectors. Here, we present a versatile technique allowing to measure $g^{(2)}(τ)$ from a large variety of light signals with a time resolution given by the pulse length of a mode-locked laser. The technique is based on frequency upconversion in a nonlinear waveguide, and we anal…
Analytical theory of the high-power passively mode-locked laser with a slow absorber is developed. In distinguishing from previous treatment, our model is valid at pulse energies well exceeding the saturation energy of absorber. This is achieved by solving the mode-locking master equation in the pulse energy-domain representation. The performances of monolithic sub-picosecond blue-violet GaN mode-locked diode laser in the high-power operation regime are analyzed using the developed approach.
